January 2018 Publisher’s LETTER

january Publisher’s LETTER

Happy New Year!

There is nothing like a fresh start! The New Year offers a chance to establish goals, resurrect dreams, and bring new habits to life.

While many will be listing resolutions, we are focusing on “revelations.” A resolution means “a firm decision to do or not do something.” Revelation means “the divine or

 supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world.”

Resolutions means you decide something. Revelation means God reveals something.

Years ago, in separate incidents, I experienced a home invasion and a bank robbery, both at gunpoint. Needless to say, I lived afraid for decades! My nightly ritual to create a safe environment was exhausting. Noises in the night kept me awake for years.

After a season with a counselor, I learned about Psalm 91. I read it over and over and memorized it. Finally, one glorious day, I believed it! It became a Revelation. Suddenly those promises took hold of my heart and I began to understand the healing process. It took persistence to keep reading while God was working in the depths of my frightened soul. There is no other way to renew our minds and heal our hearts than meditating on His Word.

This revelation became a miracle. Finally grasping the power of the Word, it created a hunger for more Truth. Seeking the Bible for answers to life’s questions became a new way of life and continues to this day.

This year’s personal revelation has been about waiting on God. Lord knows we are an impatient people! And yes, I fall quickly into that category. Let’s consider a few new habits that may help us gain “revelation” from God and less resolution from ourselves.

1. Slow down physically. I’m a busy bee, known for my energy, and I thank God for it. But in order to hear from God and gain Godly direction for our lives, we must earnestly seek Him. While I’m a big believer in drive-by prayers, I also know that being in God’s will means I’m sitting at His feet, often on my knees, poring over His Word while listening for the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

2. Slow down mentally. For me “rest” often means mental. If I’m sitting and my mind is laboring and spinning, there is nothing restful about it. The only way I’ve found to rest mentally is to repeat out loud a few anchoring Scriptures, cry out honestly to the Lord, and ask Him to help me to calm down the clamoring noise in my mind. He is our helper! 

3. Slow down spiritually.  There is no quick fix to grow in our faith. This is the area that can be most dangerous to our intimate relationship with our loving Creator. God works in us at his pace and according to His will. Yet the more we submit and surrender to him, the quicker the process.  As we seek to slow down our bodies and minds, we must say out loud over and over. “Lord, your will. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.”  Daily surrender is key to remembering who is in control.

Regardless of what our culture says, we can’t do it all. Therefore, why not do the one thing that elicits calm and brings clarity to an otherwise impossible schedule? Only God can reveal truth because He is Truth. He created you and me with a plan for our lives. His promise is not only to reveal that plan, but to bring it about Himself (Romans 8:28). We can trust Him with our lives.

Happy New Year! May your New Year’s “Revelations” lead to miracles in 2018

Baton Rouge Christian Life MAGAZINE

ADVERTISERS